Published: Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 10:58 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 10:58 p.m.

SARASOTA - More than a half century ago, Jim Welch was a fresh-faced copy boy whose job was to retrieve court documents and police reports for the reporters back at the Rochester Times-Union

“They'd yell, ‘Boy!'” Welch said. “And you'd run.”

At that newspaper is where Welch heard a plea for help that changed his life.

A radio broadcaster told the story of 11-year-old Mary Ann Ranney, who had suffered a crippling bone disease for most of her childhood. The girl, whose thin face was masked by thick glasses, was a stranger, although Welch recognized her from down the street.

The journalist asked the community in New York to help, but for the past month, the response had been silent.

“That's why I said, ‘I'll do it,'” said Welch, now 78, living in Sarasota.

For four hours, doctors cut out a chunk of bone — about 8 inches long — from his left tibia to use it to reconstruct Mary Ann's leg in 1953.

For weeks, Welch recovered in the hospital until he was strong enough to use crutches to walk for nearly a year.

His random act of kindness was not unnoticed.

It sparked an outpouring of community support as the media picked up his story and dubbed him a hero in the headlines.

A stranger donated money. The “Wheel of Fortune” television show sent him a telegram. Even President Dwight Eisenhower wanted to meet him and awarded him the Young American Medal in December 1954.

“The President seemed to be a very easy person to talk to,” Welch wrote in a newspaper story, once he returned home from the White House. “While he was pinning the medal on me, he asked me what sports I had played. I told him I played baseball and basketball and he said he always had been interested in those sports.”

Now in his home on Honore Avenue, Welch still keeps the framed medal, the certificate and the old photographs of him shaking the president's outstretched hand.

Even the newspaper articles themselves are relics. Years ago, the Rochester Times-Union shut down and no longer prints newspapers.

As to whatever happened to the little girl, Welch doesn't know.

Welch said he doesn't speak to Mary Ann anymore nor does he know where she is.

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - More than a half century ago, Jim Welch was a fresh-faced copy boy whose job was to retrieve court documents and police reports for the reporters back at the Rochester Times-Union</p><p>“They'd yell, 'Boy!'” Welch said. “And you'd run.”</p><p>At that newspaper is where Welch heard a plea for help that changed his life.</p><p>A radio broadcaster told the story of 11-year-old Mary Ann Ranney, who had suffered a crippling bone disease for most of her childhood. The girl, whose thin face was masked by thick glasses, was a stranger, although Welch recognized her from down the street.</p><p>The journalist asked the community in New York to help, but for the past month, the response had been silent.</p><p>“That's why I said, 'I'll do it,'” said Welch, now 78, living in Sarasota.</p><p>For four hours, doctors cut out a chunk of bone — about 8 inches long — from his left tibia to use it to reconstruct Mary Ann's leg in 1953.</p><p>For weeks, Welch recovered in the hospital until he was strong enough to use crutches to walk for nearly a year.</p><p>His random act of kindness was not unnoticed.</p><p>It sparked an outpouring of community support as the media picked up his story and dubbed him a hero in the headlines. </p><p>A stranger donated money. The “Wheel of Fortune” television show sent him a telegram. Even President Dwight Eisenhower wanted to meet him and awarded him the Young American Medal in December 1954.</p><p>“The President seemed to be a very easy person to talk to,” Welch wrote in a newspaper story, once he returned home from the White House. “While he was pinning the medal on me, he asked me what sports I had played. I told him I played baseball and basketball and he said he always had been interested in those sports.”</p><p>Now in his home on Honore Avenue, Welch still keeps the framed medal, the certificate and the old photographs of him shaking the president's outstretched hand. </p><p>Even the newspaper articles themselves are relics. Years ago, the Rochester Times-Union shut down and no longer prints newspapers.</p><p>As to whatever happened to the little girl, Welch doesn't know.</p><p>Welch said he doesn't speak to Mary Ann anymore nor does he know where she is.</p>